I Alone Am Immortal: My Rebirth and Leisurely Cultivation

Chapter 10: Beautiful Like a Song Dynasty Poem

Li Yan felt two completely different gazes directed at him, and a chill ran down his spine.

No, this old man has absolutely no sense of secrecy.

Faced with Jiang Yingzhu's gaze, Li Yan looked back timidly.

"What are you looking at? It's time to enter the exam room!"

Jiang Yingzhu rolled her eyes and, without saying a word, grabbed his wrist and walked into the gate of the Second Middle School.

Once the two parents were out of sight, Jiang Yingzhu pounced on Li Yan, straddling his back and pinching his face.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Take me inside, or I'll record your voice and post it on my WeChat Moments!"

Jiang Yingzhu hummed and rubbed her hands hard.

Li Yan's eyelids twitched, and he could only ignore the other students around him who were also walking into the school.

Ignoring the stares from his classmates, he walked toward the teaching building.

Jiang Yingzhu enjoyed the superior view for a while, but eventually got down and walked away obediently.

Strangely enough, she didn't know why she did it.

Perhaps she was annoyed that Li Yan was meddling, but not quite.
Instead, she felt a strange sense of 'he really understands me,' but she couldn't describe it herself. It was like a wisp of mist blown away by the wind, clearly present but impossible to grasp.

Then, besides that feeling, there was also a faint sense of shame, like that of a chuunibyou girl whose thoughts had been seen through, especially by a close peer.

It's a trivial matter like accidentally wandering into the restroom; in retrospect, it's not a big deal.

But when you think back on this little incident a few days or years later, you feel a lingering sense of shame and embarrassment.

Like chewing gum on the classroom floor, it goes unnoticed until it is noticed, at which point it becomes glaringly obvious.

Two different feelings intertwined in Jiang Yingzhu's heart, making her want to hug him and go crazy, but also want to beat him up.

"Hey! What are you thinking about? Watch out for the steps!"

Li Yan pulled her back, preventing the girl from falling.

The two climbed the steps and, based on their memory of the exam venue from the previous day, found the corresponding classroom.

"come on!"

Standing at the entrance of her examination room, Li Yan smiled and gave a thumbs up.

"You are."

Jiang Yingzhu raised her chin and stepped inside.

Watching her finish her examination and walk to her seat, Li Yan headed to his own examination room next door.

After checking in, find your seat and wait for the game to begin.

Li Yan looked around at the classrooms of this prestigious high school.

My first impression was that it was somewhat dull.

The classroom had blackboards at the front and back, painted walls on all four sides, and a very clean floor.

This is the case in most exam rooms.

The difference here is that the windows, whether facing the corridor or the plaza outside, are high and small, only one meter from the ceiling.

In his previous life, he saw it and thought it was indeed a key school; the environment alone inspired him to strive forward without any distractions.

······
Outside the examination hall, Ms. Fang and Mr. Jiang chatted casually.

They happened to see their children's homeroom teacher, Wang Fugui, ahead of them, so they went up to greet him.

"Hello, Teacher Wang, I'm Jiang Yingzhu's parent. My daughter, Zhuzhu, is getting good grades."

"Oh! Mr. Jiang, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Wang Fugui was taken aback for a moment, then warmly grasped Jiang Ye's hand and said with a smile:

"Jiang Yingzhu, as long as she performs consistently, getting into high school won't be a problem."

As soon as she finished speaking, Ms. Fang, who was standing next to her, asked impatiently:
"What about my Li Yan?"

"Li Yan?" Wang Fugui frowned, looked at Ms. Fang, and the other party's information flashed through his mind.

"That's hard to say. There's a high chance he won't get in. This child doesn't like studying. I think it's better to find him a job in a factory. Every profession can produce an outstanding person. Li Yan's parents don't need to worry."

Ms. Fang was stunned for a moment, feeling that the homeroom teacher had changed a lot, as if she had offended him somehow.

The parents who had gathered around looked at Ms. Fang with slightly different expressions upon hearing this.

Arrogance, mockery, sympathy—the list goes on.

But Ms. Fang remained unfazed and continued to ask:

"Really? Haha, I feel like my Li Yan has been working really hard lately."

"Effort should have direction. I can't say anything more about Li Yan." Wang Fugui thought of the report card and didn't say anything more.

The conversation had completely stalled, and Jiang Ye felt awkward standing to the side.

Ms. Fang chuckled awkwardly, but couldn't refute him because he was the homeroom teacher.

At this moment, I actually really hope my son gets first place and proves this person wrong.

······
The exam papers are being distributed in the examination room.

"Don't move. You can start answering the questions when the bell rings."

The proctor's voice came from ahead, and Li Yan flipped through the Chinese exam paper.

Looking at the essay topic—based on the prompt, focusing on the theme that "speaking the truth and expressing genuine feelings often requires attention to detail," candidates are required to create their own title and write a narrative essay of no less than 600 words (50 points in total).

He glanced at two pieces of material, namely "The Back View" and "Antelope Flight".

How to write it was almost hinted at; once the bell rang, whether it was the truth or not was no longer important.

These days, what's written in a diary isn't necessarily the truth; naturally, what's written down is all misleading.

The key point is emotion, which fits the material and is family affection.

If it were a typical junior high school student, they would surely have many accounts of things like "studying late at night, with their mother bringing them milk" or "on a rainy day, with their father bringing them an umbrella."

Li Yan couldn't help but laugh when he thought about the scene of the examiners having to look at thousands of umbrellas a day.

However, the reason why these kinds of trivial matters are so prevalent is that the graders fall for it.

It's like pretending to be weak to catch a tiger, showing off and getting slapped in the face. The routine hasn't changed, but the events have.

The bell rang, and Li Yan was about to start writing when a notification sound suddenly appeared in his mind.

[Ding~ Host is detected participating in the selection for an advanced immortal abode. Immortal Ascension Stage Quest - Initial Entry into the Immortal Path]

[Entering the Immortal Realm - Having passed the Immortal Abode selection, you officially shed your ignorance and begin your cultivation journey. Reward: System cultivation function upgraded] Li Yan was stunned. He read the prompt twice. Good heavens, so all that was just theory before?

He stopped paying attention to the system and focused his gaze on the exam paper.

It took an hour to get it done, and another half hour to check it.

Finally, write down your name and examination number to complete the process.

He should have written his name and exam number in advance, but Li Yan got a little overconfident.

Don't learn it if you can't cheat.
Li Yan did not stand out by handing in his paper and leaving.

The proctor will announce when the exam is over, and all exam materials, including the exam papers, will be collected.
Li Yan got up and left, turning to the next room. He had only taken two steps when a figure rushed out in a flurry.

Upon meeting Li Yan, Jiang Yingzhu thumped her chest loudly, exclaiming with relief at having survived a calamity.

"Thank goodness, I almost didn't finish filling in the answer sheet."

"Did you write down your exam admission ticket number?"

"Of course, do you think I'm that stupid!?"

"You said it yourself."

After Li Yan finished speaking, he was punched.

As they walked out of the examination room, they ran into Wang Zhenyu, Gan Tiantian, and others. They chatted about the exam questions and estimated their scores.

"Li Yan, how many points do you think you can get?"

"You should ask, how many points will I lose?"

"You're so arrogant!" Jiang Yingzhu rolled her eyes.
Indeed, it is important for a person to have self-awareness.

Shao Ming walked over and looked at Li Yan, "How about we make a bet and see who gets the highest score?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yan turned his head and looked at his shoes.

"When did you grow taller again? Be careful not to slip."

Shao Ming's face darkened, and he felt a sharp pain in his chest as the memories of his dead began to attack him relentlessly.

Li Yan curled his lip. That's it?
"Zhuzhu, Zhenyu, let's go."

After leaving the school building, the group found their parents outside the school.

Afterwards, they randomly found a place to have lunch. During the meal, Li Yan said to Ms. Fang:

"Mom, you should go back. There's nothing for you to do here. You might as well make us something nice to eat tonight."

"Yes, Auntie!"

Jiang Yingzhu chimed in, glancing at Jiang Ye, "You go back too."

"If I go back, what will you do after your exams?" Jiang Ye was getting anxious and gave Li Yan a meaningful look.

"There are buses, it's not like there aren't any." Jiang Yingzhu crossed her arms.

"Stop bewitching yourself. If your eyes feel uncomfortable, go to the hospital."

Jiang Ye nodded, planning to buy some nice things for Fang Laomei in the afternoon.

I rested for a while at the restaurant at noon. After finishing the math exam, today is finally over.

·····
Bus stop.

“There’s a spot there, let’s go.”

After paying, Li Yan glanced at a seat in the back row and pulled Jiang Yingzhu inside.

He was tall for his age, so squeezing through the crowd wasn't difficult for him.

Jiang Yingzhu followed behind and unexpectedly felt a sense of security.

I never really noticed how big this rascal has grown!

Back then, it was her brother Zhu who stood in front of his younger brother, carrying a stick.

Upon arriving at the back row, the original two-seater seats had been changed to single seats, and there was a girl in the seat, so Li Yan asked Jiang Yingzhu to sit there.

"Alright, I guess you're being filial."

“?” Li Yan asked with a question mark.

Jiang Yingzhu sat down and replied with a question mark.

"You're so heartless, taking advantage of me."

"What's wrong? Are you being unfilial?"

Li Yan held onto the back of the chair, turned his head away, too lazy to continue paying attention, otherwise it would definitely lead to a scene where he had to acknowledge his mother.

But this slight turn of his head caused him to pause in surprise.

When Li Yan's gaze swept across the back row, he saw a classically beautiful woman with an aloof demeanor leaning against the car window.

She was wearing a vintage-style loose T-shirt and carrying a light white canvas bag. She seemed to create a barrier around herself, and even the girl sitting next to her deliberately kept her distance.

It seemed that in this noisy carriage, that spot had become her sanctuary.

The girl was looking out the window, only half of her face was visible.

Li Yan's eyes flickered, showing a mixture of surprise and uncertainty.

He felt a strange sense of familiarity with this girl's demeanor.

Just as he was about to take a closer look and make a judgment, he felt a pain in his lower back.

Li Yan turned around and saw Jiang Yingzhu staring at him with narrowed eyes.

"Don't keep staring at other people, it's impolite."

Jiang Yingzhu spoke so loudly that the boys standing behind her immediately turned their heads and eyes back to the center.

Li Yan, on the other hand, felt the gazes directed at him from several girls in the back row and from several people standing around who were clearly his parents!

Fortunately, he still had some skill. He glared at Jiang Yingzhu and then glanced at the back seat.

But his eyes met those of the girl.

Those eyes, like an ink painting, adorned her classically beautiful face, further highlighting her quiet grace and just the right amount of aloofness.

It's as beautiful as a short Song Dynasty poem, exquisite and graceful yet with a touch of aloofness and detachment.

"So it was her."

(End of this chapter)